The fin-tech entrepreneur Rajesh Agrawal, Founder and CEO of RationalFX – UK’s first online FX brokering company – and Xendpay – an online money transfer company – two leading international financial services companies headquartered in London.

Rajesh is also business advisor to Sadiq Khan MP, the Labour Party’s candidate for the upcoming London Mayoral Election. Speaking about Boris’ announcement, Rajesh Agrawal said:

“In opting to support the campaign to leave the EU, Boris has clearly put his own ambitions before the national interest and that of the city he represents.”
“Leaving the EU would bring considerable risk and uncertainty for British business and would put London’s position as the world’s top-ranking financial centre at risk.”
“The free movement of goods and services across the EU and the unbridled access to 500 million potential customers it brings is crucial to the growth of businesses large and small. Outside the EU, British firms would face years of turmoil while market access and existing trade deals are re-negotiated. This will mean slower growth, less investment and fewer jobs.”
“The suggestion that British businesses will not suffer if Britain follows Boris’s path to exit is a fantastical delusion worthy of only our most eccentric politicians.”

Rajesh Agrawal is founder and CEO of Xendpay, the world’s first “pay what you want” money transfer company. Recently, he has been taken on as business advisor to Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s London Mayoral Candidate. Here, Rajesh explains why London’s tech sector is best served by Britain remaining a member of the European Union.

The stage is now set for a decision that will impact the UK’s business community for years to come. The EU referendum, which is now confirmed to be held on 23rd June, will determine whether or not Britain remains a member of one of the world’s most influential markets, and whether Britain holds a seat at the table which governs it.

“Clarity on the potential implications of a British exit (‘Brexit’) from the EU will be difficult to find amongst the trading of wild claims and statistics anticipated over the next few months,” says Rajesh Agrawal, CEO and founder Xendpay, the world’s first ‘pay what you want’ money transfer company. We can be sure of that.

He adds: “Nevertheless, it’s vital that we start to seek this clarity if we are to have our voice heard in the upcoming referendum debate. With innovation and investment at its heart, London’s booming fintech sector has been one of our greatest success stories in recent years.”

Oh haven’t we just been crying out for a positive success story related to migration? Whilst Rajesh Agrawal’s may be long passed (it’s fourteen years and counting since he moved to the UK from India at the precocious age of twenty-four with just £200 in his back pocket), there’s no doubt he fits the criterion. An entrepreneur who has made a considerable success of his life, and affected the lives of thousands, if not millions, of others in the process, via his ‘Pay what you want’ currency transfer service Xendpay, which togeth with Rajesh’s other business, Rational FX, has transferred some ten billion dollars since its inception in 2012. A revolutionary idea to offer users (a large proportion of which are migrants themselves) the chance to set their own commission rates on international money transfers, clawing back some of the $600 billion transferred annually, 20% of which is lost to inflated fees and charges. Yes this is disruptive innovation at its best, a business with a serious social conscience at its core, one with a tangible network of influence reaching far beyond the sphere of Agrawal’s personal Venn diagram.

When I get the Tube, I always pay using my Apple Watch,” says Rajesh Agrawal. The Indian-born entrepreneur and philanthropist doesn’t exactly need to take the Jubilee Line to work – in The Sunday Times Rich List 2012, he was estimated to be worth around £90m. But making money has never been the aim: “look at Beckham – he started playing football because he loved the game, not money. Money can never be your goal; it is a by-product.”

AsiansUK magazine Issue 9 launches Top 20 – British Asian Inspirational Personalities Asians in the UK have much to be proud of; the figures themselves display their resilience and work acumen. Also in recent years we have witnessed a surge of British Asians breaking barriers within media; both in front and behind the camera. British Asians…

A study by the government’s Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has found that three and a half years after leaving University, more than 20 percent graduates were in jobs that do not require a degree, such as administration, sales and customer service. One in five graduates who left university during 2008 recession found work in ‘non-professional’ roles.

While employment progression is noticeable (rising from 64.1% six months after graduation to 77.8% at 40 months), the gap in professional employment for ethnic groups widened. 66% of Black African graduates have professional…

Mark Hardwicke, Head of Corporate Finance here at Bluebox, takes a look at the growth M&A in the money

transfer, FX and FINTECH sector:

The UK money transfer industry has undergone significant changes over the last few years. The industry has seen an unprecedented amount of consolidation with high deal values and EbIT multiples being paid by both trade players and private equity houses alike. Over the last 10 years the sector has rapidly consolidated with the number of money transfer businesses reducing in Europe from 2,500 to approximately 350.

Today, almost all retail banks have their own applications for smart phones. However, I believe that digital banking will continue beyond that. We can already see similar trends in other industries. These opportunities can help support branch productivity, customer analytics and much more.

Soon enough, you will not have debit and credit cards in your wallet. We already tap to pay with NFC chips in Android phones – for the past two years. By the end of this year, Android bank apps should let us tap and pay too. The early adopters are already putting it to use in Australia and New Zealand. Of course, Apple is on it too. Apple Pay consists of tapping your phone…

Here’s a look at how Xendpay compares to other top international money transfer websites.

There are plenty of reasons why you might what to make an international money transfer.

You might need to send a one-off payment to a friend or family member for example, or set up regular payments to help your child study overseas.

Whatever the reason, there are now lots of online firms offering an alternative to doing it with your bank. These online companies exchange your money and transfer it to an account in another currency.